The debate on euthanasia certainly resides in the metaphorical grey area. It may be a gracious motive to end someone's suffering by ending their life. Nevertheless, who is to say that legalizing a god-like privilege such as this will not be without consequence? There are concerns that healthcare providers might literally pull the plug early on certain people in order to save money if euthanasia is legalized. In a world where the human population is steadily rising, euthanasia could become a means of selection to weed down our numbers by preying upon the elderly and the weak. But who constitutes this population? While they may be "burdens" to some, they are loved ones, grandparents, coworkers, friends, and neighbors. They are the everyday people right around you. Would you be able to cope knowing that someone who served a full and useful life could be put down like a crippled race horse? Even though their heart and mind may be perfectly intact, there is still a chance that they could be deemed unfit to live. Their life could be ended by a single injection, the doctor would not say a word on the death certificate, and no one would know.
In the midst of this battle, bills for the legalism of euthanasia have been shot down in places such as the United States and Britain, ("procon.org"). However, other countries such as Columbia and the Netherlands have allowed their physicians to practice both physician assisted suicide and euthanasia. As time has progressed, the practices of euthanasia have changed. Moral standards are morphing and thereby increasing the likelihood of doctors performing euthanasia more often. A chilling article from the Interim reveals some recent statistics about the practice of euthanasia in Belgium.
Statistics: [3]
A study from 2010 "indicates that 32% of all euthanasia deaths in the Flanders region were without request or consent."
These "euthanasia deaths were reported 52.8% of the time"
"45% of euthanasia deaths were by nurse without consent or request"
While these claims may be brushed off as unlikely to become any worse, it is important to know that this is not a matter to simply dust off our shoulders. Adolf Hitler and his "doctors" killed thousands of innocent people in the claim of making life better. We wouldn't want to have the same tragedy to repeat itself over again. Already, people are being pressured to end their own lives or others' lives. According to lifesitenews.com "an Irish man with degenerative motor neuron disease (MND) has revealed how he was heavily pressured by the medical community to refuse the ventilator that is keeping him alive." Nevertheless, he was one of the lucky ones who was able to plead his case. His motivation for living was: “Love for my wife. Love for my children. My friends, my family. Love for life in general."[4] We should all hold this respect and love for life by assuring that there is adequate protection from the abuse of euthanasia. In America, our first and foremost natural right is to LIFE. Consider this in your heart and understand what stands in our way of securing this blessing for generations to come.
Protect others from Euthanasia. Prevent the abuse from happening.
Aren't doctors required to help their patients?
Shouldn't they be helping the ones we LOVE?
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The debate on euthanasia certainly resides in the metaphorical grey area. It may be a gracious motive to end someone's suffering by ending their life. Nevertheless, who is to say that legalizing a god-like privilege such as this will not be without consequence? There are concerns that healthcare providers might literally pull the plug early on certain people in order to save money if euthanasia is legalized. In a world where the human population is steadily rising, euthanasia could become a means of selection to weed down our numbers by preying upon the elderly and the weak. But who constitutes this population? While they may be "burdens" to some, they are loved ones, grandparents, coworkers, friends, and neighbors. They are the everyday people right around you. Would you be able to cope knowing that someone who served a full and useful life could be put down like a crippled race horse? Even though their heart and mind may be perfectly intact, there is still a chance that they could be deemed unfit to live. Their life could be ended by a single injection, the doctor would not say a word on the death certificate, and no one would know.
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In the midst of this battle, bills for the legalism of euthanasia have been shot down in places such as the United States and Britain, ("procon.org"). However, other countries such as Columbia and the Netherlands have allowed their physicians to practice both physician assisted suicide and euthanasia. As time has progressed, the practices of euthanasia have changed. Moral standards are morphing and thereby increasing the likelihood of doctors performing euthanasia more often. A chilling article from the Interim reveals some recent statistics about the practice of euthanasia in Belgium.
Statistics: [3]
While these claims may be brushed off as unlikely to become any worse, it is important to know that this is not a matter to simply dust off our shoulders. Adolf Hitler and his "doctors" killed thousands of innocent people in the claim of making life better. We wouldn't want to have the same tragedy to repeat itself over again. Already, people are being pressured to end their own lives or others' lives. According to lifesitenews.com "an Irish man with degenerative motor neuron disease (MND) has revealed how he was heavily pressured by the medical community to refuse the ventilator that is keeping him alive." Nevertheless, he was one of the lucky ones who was able to plead his case. His motivation for living was: “Love for my wife. Love for my children. My friends, my family. Love for life in general."[4] We should all hold this respect and love for life by assuring that there is adequate protection from the abuse of euthanasia. In America, our first and foremost natural right is to LIFE. Consider this in your heart and understand what stands in our way of securing this blessing for generations to come.
Protect others from Euthanasia.
Prevent the abuse from happening.
References:
[1] Naik, Abhijit . "Euthanasia Laws" buzzle.com. N.p., 09 Oct 2010. Web. 13 Apr 2011. <http://www.buzzle.com/articles/euthanasia-laws.html>.
[2]"Euthanasia." procon.org. N.p., 28 Sep 2010. Web. 4 Apr 2011. <http://euthanasia.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000130>.
[3] "Legal euthanasia under-reported, open to abuse." theinterim.com. N.p., 21 Jan 2011. Web. 04 Apr 2011. <http://www.theinterim.com/issues/euthanasia-suicide/legal-euthanasia-under-reported-open-to-abuse/>.
[4]White, Hilary. "Doctors pushed paralized Irish man to refuse ventilator and die." lifesitenews.com. N.p., 12 Apr 2011. Web. 13 Apr 2011. <http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/doctors-pushed-paralyzed-irish-man-to-refuse-ventilator-and-die>.